Bike is back up and running.

Spent all day yesterday and a good portion of today in the shop working on the wiring.  A few headscratchers along the way, but I got it sorted out and rode it home.  I dropped the headlight and it cracked putting it back on, so I ordered a replacement.  I can tell you I learned a fuck of a lot about my bikes wiring system.  Sometimes a crash course in something is the best way to learn something new I guess.

New harness showed up

Got my harness from British Cycle Supply in the mail yesterday, and it looks top notch.  Quality is great and from what I can tell so far all the wire colors are a spot on match.  I'm going to be spending the day in the shop at work installing it. 

I'm a slow learner, and not a particularly good listener

Put the battery charger on my Triumph at work the other day and the seat came down and shorted out the charger alligator clips and the battery itself.  Melted a good portion of my wiring harness up until it starts to go under the gas tank. 

Fucking mess. 

I was pissed at myself for the three days afterwards, kicking myself for being a lazy fuck and not just removing the battery to charge it.  The battery in my bike is tight to get in and out; it's a pain in the ass.  The same can be said for replacing a wiring harness too; a real pain the ass on a whole other level. 

Anyway, I called British Cycle Supply and ordered a U.K. made wiring harness, that according to Wayne the sales guy, is the best you can get.  Wasn't cheap, but if I'm going to do this I want a good quality part.  From what I can tell the voltage regulator/rectifier and the Boyer ignition box doesn't look like they got hot at all.  Time will tell for sure though. 

Before I fucked up.

It's Summer Time. Here's some David Mann artwork.

Old Triumph and the Sea

About five years ago my wife's aunt gave me this old '68 TR25w that she had sitting in a shed a stones throw from the Atlantic ocean.  The aluminum on it was covered in white corrosion, the wheels where rusted through the chrome, but the motor was still free, the frame was clean, and the tank was more than saveable with only a few small pinholes.  Anyway, this was five years ago and I still haven't done anything with it aside from strip it down and take the top end off the motor to inspect it.  At his point I'm not sure what I want to do with it, so I'm hesitant to throw any money or time into until I've got a set plan.  I keep seeing these old photos of Gary Nixon's 250 Triumph flat track bike, and it just looks like a wicked little bike, and I'm tempted to do a low budget replica.  Of course that bike had a Sonicweld frame and basically was nothing at all like my 250, but you could theoretically build a similar styled or influenced bike with what pieces I've got.  Sort of a 250 Triumph street tracker.  I realize a TR25 isn' t the most desirable project bike, but fuck, it was free, and in the long run I'd rather see it back on the road being ridden, instead of rotting away in the sea salt air of the Jersey coast.  This occurred to me just now; two years late Hurricane Sandy would have wiped that shed and the bike the fuck out, so i guess I now see it as a full fledged mission to ride it.

Gary Nixon's '68 250 flat tracker:

January 2011 when I got it home:

As it sits now:

Need to have the seats reground but the valves themselves are in nice shape.  The bore has bit of scoring, nothing major, but I'd probably go .020 over with it and a new piston and rings.

Frame was sandblasted when I first got the bike and hit with some semi gloss black spray bomb, and the tank was also sandblasted, and the holes where soldered up.  It still needs to be lined, but I got the one small dent it had filled and it's in primer currently.  I'm hesitant to go any further without having an end goal in mind so any ideas or suggestions with the direction to take would cool!

Grace.

Cheap storage

I've been wanting to have some kind of storage on my Bonneville to keep small things like extra plugs, a few wrenches, zipties, etc.  I don't do a lot of long distance riding by any means, but to have a few things on hand that could help me limp it home if necessary would be nice.  On the other hand I didn't want anything bulky, and saddle bags were out of the question.  Found this army surplus bag at the flea market for five bucks, added a cut down quart oil container to stiffen it up, bent up a bracket and rattle canned it matte black, used the metal belt "loops" on the backside of it to slip onto the bracket.  I used the rear shock mount bolt to secure the front of the bracket and drilled a 1/4" diameter hole through the rear grab handle to secure the rear.  Works great, is pretty low key, and I can carry some stuff that might get me home in a pinch.

the Lost Boys dual sport bloodsucker sleds

Miss Birmingham Small Arms...my 71 BSA B50mx

This bike was given to me by a family friend who had it in his shed for over 35 years.  He used to race it back in the 70's in local scrambles, he knew I was into British bikes, so he let me have it.  I was super stoked, but there were a few downsides.  The motor was locked up form sitting so long.  After letting it sit for months with some Marvel Mystery Oil poured into the spark plug hole, heating it with a propane torch on and off for days, she still wouldn't free up. I finally resorted to pulling the motor out of the bike, taking the cylinder head off, pouring ATF fluid into the bore and setting that on fire until it burned out.  The heat freed up the stuck rings, and after that it was a few taps with a hammer and 2x4 block of wood and she was loose.  After honing the cylinder, new piston rings, and having the valve seats re-ground, I got it back together and running.  It got tons of torque, sounds like pure evil, and is a fucking blast to ride.  It still leaks some oil, and could use a little more cosmetic work, but it's a fun bike to own.  Most people that see it I'm sure think it's just some old ugly piece of shit dirtbike, but to me it's beautiful.

the Byrds...with Gram Parsons

I was never much into the Sweetheart of the Rodeo era of the Byrds, but I gave it another listen lately and I'm hooked.  Not sure why I never heard the genius in it before.  Sorry Gram, I don't know what was the matter with me.